Creative Problem Solving

Welcome to Creative Problem Solving!

About this course

This course will help you understand the role of creativity, innovation, and problem solving in your
own life and across disciplines. It will challenge you to move outside of your existing comfort zone
and to recognize the value of that exploration. What makes an idea creative, anyway?

This course will help you understand the importance of diverse ideas, and to convey that
understanding to others. It will cover methods for generating new ideas, increasing motivation, and
ways to increase your own creative ability through assessment and discussion.

The principal learning activity in the course is a series of "differents" where you will be challenged
to identify and change your own cultural, habitual, and normal patterns of behavior. Creative
prompts such as "eat something different" and "do something as a child" will encourage you to
recognize your limits and overcome them. In addition, you are encouraged to understand that
creativity is based on societal norms, and that by its nature, it will differ from and be discouraged
by society; in this course, the persistence of the creative person is developed through practice. You
will learn how to approach problems in divergent ways and apply this knowledge to your daily
endeavors.

Course format

The course includes: 3 quizzes on video and reading material, and four do something different
assignments.

Each unit will include: • A set of lecture videos, some of which contain activities to complete •
Originality Assessment Engine" – creativity drills to measure your increasing creative ability • One
of a series of 4 "Do Something Different" assignments with peer evaluations

Course navigation

You will find all content for each unit in the general navigation area. Each time you log in you will
find due dates, recent forum posts and announcements on the main page; any pivotal
announcements will also be released via email. The syllabus, schedule and a breakdown of the
grading system can be found under "course information." Additionally, course content including
currently available videos, quizzes and forums can be found under course material; this content will
be released in tandem with each unit page.

About the schedule and the assignments

All assignments, evaluations and quizzes will be due on a rolling basis. On each unit page you will
find a section devoted to the core work you will do in this class. There are 4 "DSDs" total; you will
find a general introduction video to the topic under unit 1. Once your assignment deadline has been
uploaded, the peer evaluation will begin; you will then have the following week to complete 4 peer
evaluations and a self evaluation. Time will vary somewhat based on the rate of other submissions.
We, the teachers in the course will do a monthly summary of interesting work seen in the forums, so
share your work in the forums for feedback from other participants.

Every unit there will be a short "DSD introduction" video explaining the creative prompt for that
unit. Each unit also has a PDF of past examples for that challenge, a link to the assignment
submission page, and starting unit 2, a link to the peer evaluation page for the previous unit's DSD
Creative Problem Solving
for grading. When submitting your assignment, you will be able to view the quantitative grading
rubric provided on which you will evaluate your classmates and on which your project will be
evaluated as well. A space for comments/feedback is also provided. The peer evaluation portion of
this class is designed to be brief. You should not need to spend an excessive amount of time
evaluating your peers; the idea is that you will be able to see some projects in class and gauge the
creativity of an idea based on a set of personal, cultural and societal standards, and leave comments
for feedback/improvement. You are encouraged to share your projects in the forums with everyone
and vote for the top examples; further explanation is provided in the overview video.

Quick grading breakdown

Each DSD is worth 25% of your grade; all must be completed with an average score of 70% to pass
the course. You will not get full points unless you complete both the peer and self evaluations. You
will find a complete grading overview under "grading and logistics."

Contacting the instructors

The instructors for this course will have online office hours every week where they are available to
respond to frequently asked/upvoted questions in the forums. Regularly, we will be online
responding to a number of forum discussions. If you have pressing questions it's best to try posting
to the appropriate area in the forums first; likely your classmates will have the answer. Generally
email is discouraged, try your luck with asking the forums first.

Every month we'll also be posting a video as a "live" review of some of the most interesting DSD
assignments we've found and addressing additional topics that have come up in class. You might
find this helpful to learn more about critiquing the ideas of others or to get inspiration, or to see
what's being done by others in the class. You'll find this link active beginning unit 2.

How to get started

Unit 1 includes introductory videos for the class from your instructors, a general overview of the
course, introduction to the DSD assignments and the peer grading system, and a tutorial on getting
the best documentation for your projects. Therefore this unit has a bit more content than the
following units; generally the video load is fairly short. Please check out all the videos before
beginning your assignments. So please review the material and get started as soon as possible!
You'll need some time to generate ideas, implement your idea, and compose a brief written
description with photo documentation to post.

Under "Activities and Exercises" for the first unit you'll find a link to the introduction forums.
Please post something brief about yourself, where you're from, and include a photo of something
neat in your hometown. Additionally, under this section you'll find a link to our own "Originality
Assessment Engine" program which is a tool for developing your creativity skills and generating
ideas; information is provided in the PDF in unit 1 about how this works and how to access it. It's
also available as an inexpensive downloadable app for iPhone and Android devices.

Quizzes are to be completed every other unit; these are short and designed to enhance your
knowledge of how creativity really works. Readings are provided and you'll find the article for the
first quiz available in unit 2 under "readings" (Quiz #1 is based on content from the Newsweek
article).

Review content under "Course Information" for a complete schedule. Then, check the forums for
conversation topics or if you have additional questions.
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Finally, remember to have fun with this! This class is all about challenging yourself and expanding
your ability to be creative and find inspiration for innovation, and strengthen your approach to
solving relevant problems. Much of this course is what you make it, so do something that's
different, meaningful and engaging to you and others around you. Share your work, give
constructive feedback and contribute to an evolving knowledge base on which ideas form, grow and
evolve.
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INTRO

“Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learnt. It empowers people by adding
strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and where appropriate,
profits."--- Edward de Bono

Welcome to Creative Problem Solving!

This unit we will be covering:

a general overview + defining creativity, course methods and developing your 'creativity muscles',
and a photo workshop covering how to capture the best photos (and video) for your homework
assignments. The main class video lectures will be posted within each unit under "lectures."

Each unit there will also be creative exercises for you to do, posted under "activities and exercises."
This is where you'll also find PDFs, links and other supporting material for the topics covered in the
lecture videos. Your exercise for this week is to post an introduction: tell us a bit about yourself and
where you live.

The core of your homework and participation in this course will be a series of 'do something
different' activities. Each unit will include a video introduction of the unit's assignment, an
assignment submission page for you to upload your photos and written description of each
assignment, and an evaluation form, where you will critique each other and yourself. You'll be
asked to 'upvote' the projects you think are the strongest, the most creative; the best will be
displayed in the forums and discussed in a monthly live review session. This will be your
opportunity to gain extra credit and share your ideas with the entire class. All videos, forums and
assignment submissions will be posted under the section "DSD."

There will also be 3 quizzes in units 2, 4, and 6 on provided readings and videos.
Creative Problem Solving

WEEK 1:

Welcome!

Welcome to Creative Problem Solving.

 
I'm Brad Hokanson, a faculty member in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota.
And I'm Marit McCluske. I'm a graphic design MFA. I'm your co-instructor for this class.
 
The origins of this class are from a fall, small seminar that began in the year 2000. We've been
teaching the class for about 15 years. It's been at a large format since 2007. We've got large lectures
and we've got small discussion groups that make up the course.

Creativity's a complex trait, and it does have many different characteristics. It's generally defined as
the ability to generate ideas that are both new and useful. 
What is new and novel and what is useful or applicable will differ depending on the situation.
 
What we're concerned with is the development of creativity on an everyday basis.
 
And part of that development is the ability to produce lots of different ideas without self-censorship,
even if the ideas are simple, overly complex, highly challenging, weird, stupid, or funny.
 
Creativity is a skill that can be developed through instruction and practice, but can also diminish
without cultivation.
 
Which is proven to be the case as seen in traditional schools and corporate environments.
 
This class looks to help build your creative endurance, creative confidence and motivation.
 
So you can continually generate more ideas and the techniques to develop those ideas to solve
problems Each week, we'll focus on a particular component of creative skill development and
creativity research in the lecture videos and activities portion of each weekly module.
 
These will include exercises that have you generate more and unusual ideas and evaluate your
progress.
 
Lecture material is supported by supplied readings and videos, which are the topic of three quizzes
you'll find throughout the course.
The class will have a weekly series of personal challenges, asking you to do something different.
 
Each challenge is designed to get you to do something you've never done before. You'll need to
think about why you do or don't do some things in a particular way,
 
and how breaking habits and assumptions can help you find creative solutions to all types of
problems.
 
Each week, you'll be given a prompt, where you identify the boundaries of various life aspects.
 
The first one, to eat something different, is explained in this DST section on this week's page.
 
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You will have a week to complete each task, followed by a week to complete peer and self
evaluations.
 

For you to get the most out of this class and complete the course, your participation and interaction
is essential.
 
Creativity and innovation develop heavily through sharing of ideas rather than protecting them.
 
Share your work with others through the forums and follow the same guidelines as with your peer
evaluations.
 
Be constructive and positive in your comments.Again, keep in mind that creativity is a skill that can
be applied in all disciplines.
 
It's a concept that has broad applications in both personal and social domains.
 
Therefore, one way the value of an idea can be assessed is by looking at how unique, novel and
applicable it is to both you as an individual as well as how creative it is to others.
 
This class is unique in that it's built on the idea that connectivity to your environment and to the
experiences of others is fundamental to learning.
 
It focuses on the development of your creativity and ability to solve problems.
 
But the nature of the course is structured to emphasize creative and autonomous learning through
the online format.
 
The most important thing to remember is that it is not about accumulating more information, but
rather about developing your skills.
 
One thing that's exciting about this class and the MOOC environment, is the global exchange of
ideas and feedback.
 
One factor that needs to be considered in determining the creative value of an idea, if it is both new
and useful, is the societal and cultural context.
 
So keep in mind that it's important for you to explain your particular set of beliefs and habits and
cultural norms, when you submit your weekly projects to be evaluated by your peers.
 
Also remember to be objective about your own world view, and its influence on your opinions of
creativity when evaluating the work of others.
 
Aside from examining your personal comfort zone and world lens, other things you can do to get
the most out of this class includes making creativity a regular part of your life.
 
Document your ideas as they happen by jotting notes or taking pictures. Try new things and new
approaches to problems when the opportunity arises, and keep track of all ideas and inspiration.
 
Evaluate the definition of a problem. This will be covered in class, but keep an open mind about
how you might enrich your life by the desire to improve upon your daily experiences.
 
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Practicing techniques you'll learn in the course will make them more habitual. Over the length of
the course, through practice and development of new ideas, you will improve your creativity.
 
There are no right or wrong answers. Ideas that fall short in their execution still have value in
failure.
 
There's value in observation and in making new connections. And always remember this should be
fun, as this is part of the value of creativity.

So please get started by posting your own introduction in the forum you'll find linked on this week's
page, and tell us a little bit about yourself, and where you're from.
 

This first week will include more lecture videos than usual. As some will cover the specifics of the
peer evaluation system, as well as how to document your projects, and share them with us.
 
You will have a week to complete each DSD. We'll being doing live reviews of some of the best
projects that come up in class.